Maintaining Victoria's Rail Infrastructure Assets
Overview
Each year, Victoria’s 5 000 kilometre rail system carries around 140 million passengers and 17 per cent of the freight passing through Victoria’s major ports. In recent years, upgrades to parts of the rail system, additional services, lower fares for regional passengers and rises in fuel prices have led to a surge in passenger numbers across Victoria. The freight task in Victoria is also expected to grow significantly over the coming years and these changes place greater demands on the rail system.
In this context, it is important that the state’s rail infrastructure, that is the facilities used to operate the railway such as the track and the power and signalling systems, are well maintained. This report examined how well the current lease arrangements for maintaining the metropolitan, regional and interstate rail infrastructure had contributed to the delivery of reliable train services